UK Unemployment

UK Unemployment: What’s Changed

There’s a lot going on in the political world at the moment and sometimes it’s hard to remember that we all play a part in the big picture. Let’s bring the focus back to the day-to-day and take a look at how the UK is performing when it comes to employment.

The Office for National Statistics has just released figures showing that only 4.1% of people are now unemployed, that’s the lowest level since October 1975. That means a total of 1.38 million people are ready and able to work, but don’t have a job to call their own.

A Positive Picture

It’s a positive picture overall, one we’re glad to welcome when it’s all doom, gloom and Brexit mayhem. When you take into consideration that there’s been a real term (a proper, real life) increase in wages of about 0.9% too, the picture looks more positive still.

Is It All Positive?

Well the positivity of the next point largely depends on your thoughts about zero-hour contracts. There are a total of 780,000 people still employed on zero-hour contracts. That means 2.5% of people in employment don’t know how many hours they’re going to be working, week to week.

What About Construction?

Well, employment in the construction industry is at its highest ever level! Increasing by 3.8% since last year. With average earnings bouncing back and hitting a handsome £607 a week, just behind the finance sector – it’s looking good for construction. But with all of that positivity in construction comes extra work. That means more paperwork, admin and tax calculations for every contractor and sub-contractor. A CIS solution might be able to save you constant headaches trying to get your tax payments right – why not contact us to discuss what we’ve done for construction workers just like you.